Any tonal differences if you flip the pickup?

[FerMetalhead1]

I know that some DiMarzio pickups present some tonal differences when the pickup is turned around, but most of them don´t. However, what about Seymour Duncan? Does the sound change? If so, in which models?

[beaubrummels]

Upside down? Yeah I think that would sound different. (If you really mean rotated 180 degrees, can't comment myself, but I have read others on here say it did something different, but I think only in combination with other pickups if I remember correctly.)

[FerMetalhead1]

Upside down? Yeah I think that would sound different. (If you really mean rotated 180 degrees, can't comment myself, but I have read others on here say it did something different, but I think only in combination with other pickups if I remember correctly.)

HAHAHA sorry, i just edited the thread

[Masta' C]

Hahahahaha! That's hilarious!

Aside from the Custom/59 "hybrid", SD uses symmetrical coils, so orientation doesn't make a big difference. You could potentially "fine-tune" a pickup by changing its orientation, but most players wouldn't notice enough of a difference to bother making the change.

That said, the slug coil technically has higher inductance and creates a stronger sensing area at the strings compared to the screw coil simply because of the difference in pole piece material, size, and mass. However, this effect is largely offset by the fact that screws are typically adjusted closer to the strings, so the best way to go about creating a greater difference is to lower the screw poles in order to get the slugs closer to the strings and then seeing what changing the orientation does.

[Ace Flibble]

Custom/59 Hybrid changes a little bit when it's in the middle. Since the Custom coil is hotter it decides more of the tone, so placing it toward the bridge makes the pickup a little tighter and brighter while placing it facing the neck makes it a little looser and thicker, though really the difference is minimal. Used in the neck position the difference is more obvious. With the pickup in the bridge the difference is barely audible.
The P-Rail's rail coil changes sound a lot, no matter whether it's in the bridge, middle or neck. Placing it facing the bridge makes it much brighter and vice-versa if you face it toward the neck. The P-90 coil doesn't change much, anywhere, nor do the series or parallel modes really change.

Those are the only two SD pickups that are 'unbalanced' enough for position to make a difference when series or parallel. Any humbucker pickup that is split can sound different depending on where the 'live' coil is; if you use the coil toward the neck you'll get a loose and thicker sound and vice-versa if you use the coil toward the bridge. Which coil is left on and which is turned off is an important decision to make when wiring up a coil split switch and it's important to make sure you install the pickup the right way around. You don't want to wire a split switch intending to use the bridge coil if actually you've spun the pickup around and the ''bridge'' coil that is now the one closer to the neck.

[Lewguitar]

Yes. I've only done it with a neck humbucker but turning it 180 degrees so the adjustable polepieces face towards the bridge rather than the end of the neck seems to reduce "boominess" a little. I think it would work with any paf style Duncan humbucker.

Peter Green did it. So did Wes Montgomery. So did Eddie Van Halen.

[ErikH]

Yup, I've flipped the neck humbucker like that as well. Gives it a little more "liveliness". I have a Screamin' Demon in the neck that way. I also noticed that Eddie Van Halen did it with his Wolfgang guitars. Seem to recall him doing it on his Peavey's as well but not 100% on that. The EBMM models were oriented the traditional way.

[Lewguitar]

Yup, I've flipped the neck humbucker like that as well. Gives it a little more "liveliness". I have a Screamin' Demon in the neck that way. I also noticed that Eddie Van Halen did it with his Wolfgang guitars. Seem to recall him doing it on his Peavey's as well but not 100% on that. The EBMM models were oriented the traditional way.

Erik is absolutely right about the neck humbucker in the EVH Wolfgang set. The screw polepieces face towards the bridge...not the neck.

[superpete]

i seem to remember dimebag saying the secret to his sound was flipping his L500XL around

[Masta' C]

i seem to remember dimebag saying the secret to his sound was flipping his L500XL around

[superpete]

YES!!! That's the exact interview i was thinking of! Could not remember the term he used...squirmy!!!

it's funny, i can barely remember what i had for breakfast, but i can remember word for word all my favorite articles from in Guitar World in the 90s

[Ace Flibble]

The 500XL is meant to have matched coils, so spinning it shouldn't have changed the tone at all. It could be that his particular pickup was damaged in some way, or the coils were not matched as closely as intended. Of course when he flipped it (or when anyone else flips theirs) he might not have put it back in at the same height from the strings, which could have contributed to any change in tone.
However, nine times out of ten with these things I put it all down to a big dose of placebo. Unless your pickup definitely has mismatched coils, there should be no change in sound when spinning it around. And even when your pickup does have mismatched coils, it takes quite a significant mismatch (e.g. P-Rail, Gibson Burstbuckers, DM Bluesbucker) to cause a really noticeable change in tone. At least, one more noticeable than anything you could equally blame on pickup height, fresh strings, just happening to stand a bit closer to your amp that day, or whatever else.

Peter Green did it.

Peter Green's was done entirely by accident, though, and how much it changed the sound (if at all) is unknown since the whole pickup was rewound at the same time and the magnet got put in the wrong way around as well. Nothing about his tone was intended and there aren't any clear recordings of how the guitar was before in order to tell exactly how much changed.

[Lewguitar]

Peter Green's was done entirely by accident, though, and how much it changed the sound (if at all) is unknown since the whole pickup was rewound at the same time and the magnet got put in the wrong way around as well. Nothing about his tone was intended and there aren't any clear recordings of how the guitar was before in order to tell exactly how much changed.

Two different things.

Peter turned his pickup around on purpose. As did Wes Montgomery.

Alot of us did back then to try and compensate for the neck pickup being louder and bassier than the bridge pickup.

Because both were wound more or less identically. Not calibrated for the neck and bridge positions like they are these days.

But the magnet in Peter's neck pickup got turned around relative to the magnet in the bridge pickup most likely by accident.

[Bill Dennis]

Erik is absolutely right about the neck humbucker in the EVH Wolfgang set. The screw polepieces face towards the bridge...not the neck.

I think it was about the color pattern on the Wolfgangs. With uncovered pickups the difference is nil unless the coils are significantly different. Its more obvious with a covered pickup when you mover the exposed pole pieces .

[Lewguitar]

I think it was about the color pattern on the Wolfgangs. With uncovered pickups the difference is nil unless the coils are significantly different. Its more obvious with a covered pickup when you mover the exposed pole pieces .

The adjustable polepieces can be set closer to the strings or in an arch that matches the fingerboard radius.

The fixed pole pieces cannot. They stay flat.

Eddie was meticulous about his tone.

He knew what he was doing.